1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automated data processing mechanism, and more particularly, to a method of automatically producing layout information and apparatus thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
By the current electronic device manufacturing process, electronic device makers such as mobile phone, computing device and entertainment device manufacturers, transmit the required integrated circuit (IC) first layout information to the semiconductor foundries. In general, the first layout information has various forms including text files, Adobe PDF files, electronic mail (email) and image files. When the employees of the semiconductor foundry receive the first layout information, they must input the layout data one by one into foundry's internal system one by one in the required formats. The first layout information can, however, comprise tens, hundreds, even thousands of data. As a result, this manual process consumes most of the first layout information processing time and introduces higher sources of error.
Furthermore, current first layout information analyzing tools only output marks or numbers, and do not display the device and layer information for convenient subsequent processing. As a result, the foundry employees must compare the non user-friendly information represented by marks or numbers, also adding to processing time and the risk of human error.